The best teachers all have at least one thing in common: they ask great questions. They ask questions that force students to move beyond simple answers, that test their reasoning, that spark curiosity, and that generate new insights. They ask questions that inspire students to think, and to think deeply. As a business leader, you might have years of experience and the confidence of your organization behind you, so it may be tempting to think that your job is to always have the right answers. But great leaders have to inspire the same curiosity, creativity, and deeper thinking in their employees that great teachers inspire in their students – and that starts with asking the right questions. Any answer is only as good as the question asked. (Harvard Business Review)

For the first time this spring, Harvard Business School students are learning about Valerie Daniels-Carter’s career — and those of other African American executives — in a new course focused exclusively on black entrepreneurship. Less than 1 percent of the 10,000 case studies published by Harvard Business School feature black business leaders, said Steven Rogers, a former lampshade manufacturing executive who is teaching the course — even though black-owned businesses represent 9 percent of all U.S. firms. (The Washington Post)

People skills are just as important as, if not more important than, business skills. Being upfront is always better than leaving another person hanging. (Business.com)

Now, 10 years later, I’m supporting several colleagues as they transition into their first management roles. In working through their challenges, I’ve realized that everyone has preconceived ideas about what a boss "should" be and do—and that those ideas can steer even the best-intentioned individual off track. Here are five of the most common assumptions new managers need to challenge. (The Muse)

Rampant cc’ing leads workers and managers to squander precious time sorting through unnecessary messages. My research shows it can have another cost: reduced trust. This is ironic, because some people, like Ali, do it in good faith. They believe the benefits of transparency and collaboration outweigh the costs of excess emails. What they may not realize is how all this surplus communication is eroding the very goals they seek to support through their excess collaboration. (Harvard Business Review)

It’s no great secret that Silicon Valley has a diversity problem. For minority women in business, rising to the top at tech companies is not an easy undertaking. It’s also not a losing battle. Just last year, TaskRabbit promoted its COO, Stacy Brown-Philpot, to CEO, adding one more name to the very short list of black women leaders at multimillion-dollar tech companies. What happened next? Exactly what one would hope. She set her sights on growing that list. (Skyword)

Tech companies like to boast that they foster an "inclusive workplace." Yet how many industry leaders actually understand what an inclusive workplace is, much less know how to successfully create and sustain one? Coco Brown founder and CEO of The Athena Alliance, an organization dedicated to advancing boardroom diversity, believes that an inclusive workplace is an environment in which everyone has an equal opportunity to thrive. She notes that career advancement, pay, benefits and impact should all be addressed on equal terms and with equal access. (InformationWeek)

B-schools and companies need to stop confining discussions of gender to women-centric events and instead normalize gender diversity throughout their institutions. (Entrepreneur)

Now more than ever, companies across the country, in every market and industry, are considering ways to hire a diverse workforce. Companies of all sizes are realizing that their employees aren’t the only ones to benefit; instead, they are seeing the advantages of embracing the different ages, ethnicities, genders and education levels of their employees to create an inclusive, creative and collaborative workplace. (Virginia Business)

Unemployment is set to surpass 25% this year, possibly on its way to 28% next year. It was at 7.4% in 2015. Venezuela's economy shrank a massive 18% last year -- its third year of recession and it's expected to be in the red this year, and next too. The IMF's prediction for inflation in Venezuela is pretty bad, but better than previous expectations: It's expected to skyrocket 720% this year -- somehow only half of the previous forecast. But if Venezuela stays on its current path, the IMF predicts inflation will rise over 2000% in 2018. (CNN Money)

When Lisa Wang sank her retirement money — all $730,000 of it — into a single investment, her fund manager repeatedly said there was zero risk. He was wrong. On Wednesday, Ms. Wang, 61, joined about a dozen other customers in the lobby of a Beijing branch of the bank China Minsheng, pressing employees for details and demanding their money back, after Chinese news media reported that more than $400 million of investor money had disappeared. (The New York Times)

China is investing in Silicon Valley start-ups with military applications at such a rapid rate that the United States government needs tougher controls to stem the transfer of some of America's most promising technologies, a Pentagon report says.(CNBC)

Secretary of Homeland Security John Kelly said Tuesday that rules allowing Europeans to travel to the U.S. without a visa should be reviewed because of concerns over potential terrorism. "We have to start looking very hard at that [visa waiver] program," he said during an appearance at George Washington University. "Not eliminating it and not doing anything excessive, but look very hard at that program." (CNN Money)

For many, getting a college education is the first step toward living the American Dream. You find a good-paying job, save up for a new home, maybe marriage and eventually retire when the time is right. If able, you endow the next generation with your accumulated wealth. (The Atlanta Black Star)

Unfortunately, even in education systems considered to be high performing, there is no guarantee of access to high-level schooling for everyone. According to the U.S. News and World Report, South Carolina and Nevada have some of the worst school systems in the United States, while Maryland and Massachusetts have some of the best. But the statistics from this year’s Advanced Placement tests show that the educational experiences of students who identify as African American are different from those who identify as white, regardless of school system quality. (Harvard Political Review)

Roughly half of the people filing their taxes this year will get a refund. And in fiscal year 2016, the average individual income refund was $3,050, according to the Internal Revenue Service. Yes, the smart thing to do with that money is to invest it—or at least shuffle it over to your 401(k). Maybe you use it to pay down debt. Barring that, it's a good way to set up an emergency fund in case you suddenly find yourself out of a job. The truth of the matter, though, is that for a lot of people, that money will start burning a hole in their pocket, and they'll want to give themselves a treat with their mini-windfall. We won't judge you if you're one of those folks. (It's your money after all.) But if you are looking to shop, what should you spend it on? We've got a few ideas. (Fortune)

Tech companies are pushing the Federal Communications Commission not to water down its rules on net neutrality, teeing up a confrontation between Silicon Valley and Washington as the nation's top telecom regulator mulls a plan to undo the Obama administration's regulations for Internet providers. (The Wall Street Journal)

The U.S. House of Representatives has sanctioned legislation that would offer fast growing startups twice as much help for investment capital—a measure that could benefit black entrepreneurs. The approval endorses a bill backed by Rep. Nydia M. Velázquez (D-New York), and would allow venture funds, often used as seed financing for small companies, to attract more investors. (Black Enterprise)

The most recent technology IPOs include MuleSoft, Alteryx, Coupa, BlackLine, Talend, and Twilio. Add to that list recent filings by Okta, Yext and Cloudera and the market’s appetite for enterprise technology IPOs continues to grow in 2017. Now a new batch of more than 300 are in the running for an initial public offering. For all of the digital enterprises preparing for IPOs this year, staffing the right executive team is critical. (Forbes)

Owning or running a business is becoming increasingly less common for African-American men and women. Companies have grabbed larger shares of the market over the past several decades, edging out small and independent businesses, which often play important roles in their respective communities. (Marketplace)

U.S. government debt prices were lower on Wednesday as investors await fresh economic data. The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury notes, which moves inversely to price, was higher at around 2.216 percent, while the yield on the 30-year Treasury bond was also higher at 2.873 percent. The two Treasury notes hit their lowest levels since November in Tuesday's session. (CNBC)

Michael Rashid, a former healthcare chief executive, and several African-American community leaders and business owners in Philadelphia have come up with their own plan to increase the revenues of black-owned businesses which they hope will then keep more money in the community. (The Washington Post)

For middle-skilled, middle class workers at low-paying firms, the chance of moving into the top third of the income distribution was just 0.6%, according to a recent paper analyzing U.S. Census data from 1990 to 2013. For middle-skilled, middle class workers at middle-paying firms, the chances of moving up the following year were 2.6%. But for middle-skilled middle class workers at high-paying firms, the chance was substantially better: nearly 12%. (The paper divides earners, skillsets, and firms up into thirds. So "high-paying" means the top third of firms, "middle-paying" means the middle third, and "low-paying" the bottom third. The same is true for skills. I use "middle class" to refer to the middle third of earners.) (Harvard Business Review)

Here's a personal finance rule you can break — with reservations: Taking a loan from your 401(k) plan. Aside from your house, your workplace retirement plan likely makes up the largest chunk of your overall wealth. The average 401(k) balance in the fourth quarter of 2016 hit an all-time high of $92,500, according to data from Fidelity Investments. (CNBC)

The dream of owning a home is one that has been embedded in the minds of all Americans. But for some, the quest the live and achieve the "American Dream" can be a bit more daunting. Despite making notable gains in homeownership, African-Americans still face declining rates. In fact, those rates are now below their 1970 level, according to data compiled by the Urban Institute. (Ebony)

For years, people have taken a break from the chaos of Ikea stores by collapsing in its cafes. Now, the company has discovered that its meatballs and cold salmon have an appeal all their own -- enough that it may introduce a chain of Ikea restaurants. (Forbes)